Truong My Lan sentenced to death in major bank fraud case
Truong My Lan, Chairwoman of property developer Van Thinh Phat Group, was sentenced to death at the first-instance trial in Ho Chi Minh City on April 11.
Lan was sentenced to death for "embezzlement", 20 years behind bar for "giving bribes" under the 2015 Penal Code, and another 20 years for "violating regulations on banking operations and other activities related to banking activities" under the 1999 Penal Code. The cumulative sentence is the death penalty.
According to the indictment of the Supreme People's Procuracy, Lan built a vast network of about 1,000 subsidiaries and affiliated companies under the Van Thinh Phat umbrella, entrusting their management to relatives. Despite not holding any official position at Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB), Lan was its major shareholder, controlling between 85% and 91.5% of the shares.
Lan and her accomplices selected and appointed their relatives to key positions at the bank, formed a number of SCB units specialising in lending and disbursement at Lan’s request, established and used thousands of "ghost" companies. The group colluded with leaders of many related businesses to commit crimes, and created bogus loan profiles to withdraw money from the bank, among other acts.
From October 9, 2018 to October 7, 2022, Lan directed the creation of 2,527 fake loan records, with a total value of VND1,066 trillion (US$44.4 million ). As of October 17, 2022, Lan and her accomplices still owed VND677.28 trillion in loans, which are all bad debts. After deducting the value of collaterals, the bad loans valued at around VND498 trillion.
The remaining 85 defendants were given sentences from three-year suspended imprisonment to life in prison.
